~Chapter 16- Christmas at Grimmauld Place~

The months leading up to December were bittersweet. Umbridge had, of course, created new decrees and was inspecting more and more teachers, but the D.A. was still on. Hermione had cleverly created fake Galleons so that we would know the date of the next meeting, and while it was a shock to feel the coin burn in my pocket, after recovering I began to get excited. The only thing that disturbed me slightly was that the Death Eaters' Dark Marks did the same thing, only they were burned in their skin instead of on a coin.

Hagrid also returned. His first lesson was on thestrals-skeletal winged creatures that you could only see if you'd seen someone die. Only three people in our class could see them: Harry, Neville, and a Slytherin who I recognized as Theodore Nott.

Anything Umbridge-related made up the bitter parts of school leading up to Christmas. The sweet part was the D.A. meetings, which were becoming increasingly more interesting. We had one meeting left before the holiday break began, and up until that point we'd learned the Impediment Jinx, Stunning, and the Reductor Curse.

Then, just before the break began, Harry and the Weasleys mysteriously disappeared from Hogwarts. On the day of their disappearance, Neville claimed Harry had had a nightmare the previous night and they had to leave for some reason.

"Neville, what exactly happened?" I asked him in the common room as soon as I got the chance.

"I don't know...it was strange," he replied. "Harry had a fit, woke up, got sick, and went to the headmaster. He didn't come back, nor did the Weasleys. Harry claimed he saw Mr. Weasley get attacked by a snake and he was positive it wasn't a dream."

I couldn't get this off my mind as I waited for break to come. If it had anything to do with the Order of the Phoenix, I might be able to find out what it was. Therefore, as soon as I got off the Hogwarts Express when break began, I found Dora immediately and said, rather demandingly, "What happened to the Weasleys?"

"Er...wotcher, Linds," she replied. "I missed you too."

"Sorry," I mumbled. "I've just been curious. Do you know anything?"

"Well, yes. But I'll explain when we get home."

We took the Floo Network back home. It was strange being back. I hadn't been home in so long because the last of my summer was spent with the Order. But the warm atmosphere was comforting. As soon as Dora and I walked through the door, Ted greeted us.

"Lyra, good to see you," he said.

"Good to see you," I replied as I hung my cloak on the coat rack. "I've missed being here."

"How's school?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Well, Umbridge has been taking over as I'm sure you've heard. It's horrible, but I've managed, because, well..." I trailed off, not wanting to give away the secret D.A. meetings. "Where's Andromeda? How's she been?" I asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Worried, as usual," Ted answered. "She's in the kitchen."

I nodded as Ted turned to Dora. "It was nice of you to come home for Christmas," he told her.

"Well, I'm only here until dinner," she told him. "After that I'm heading for Grimmauld Place and then St. Mungo's - "

"St. Mungo's?" I interjected. "So the snake attack really happened?"

She sighed. "Yes. I suppose I did promise to tell you the story."

Andromeda walked out of the kitchen at that moment. "Lyra!" she exclaimed. "It's wonderful to see you! Your presents are in your room. I'm making dinner right now, so you can open them while it's cooking."

"Thanks," I said, and headed upstairs, motioning for Dora to follow. She entered my room with me. It was just as I'd left it, only there was a small pile of presents on my bed.

"So," I said. "Tell me what happened."

"Okay!" she exclaimed aggressively. "But don't expect much, I don't know the whole story myself!"

"Yeah, well tell me what you do know!" I said, getting more and more irritated each second.

"All right. Harry saw Mr. Weasley get attacked by a snake. He's in St. Mungo's now, and he's alive, but he's taking lots of treatments. Harry and the Weasley children were sent to Grimmauld Place to stay until they got to visit St. Mungo's. Now the Order's trying to work out why Harry saw the attack."

"So that's it?"

"That's all I know," she said.

I began to fiddle with the ribbon on one of my presents. Without looking at her, I said, "Dora, you didn't say where Mr. Weasley was when he was attacked."

She sighed. "I can't tell you where he was. That's Order business."

I glared at her. "You know, you used to tell me everything. But ever since you joined that stupid Order, it's like...I don't know...you think you're so much older than you really are. You're the youngest one there, if you hadn't noticed."

She glared back and crossed her arms. "I'm not a child, Lyra. The Order is important, and I can't tell you secrets about it as if it were a matter of teenage gossip! You-Know-Who is at large, the Ministry is denying it, and all you care about is that I won't tell you Order secrets! Maybe there's a reason I don't tell you! Have you ever thought about that? You're just a - you're not - "

"I'm not a child, Dora! I'll be of age in two years - "

"Yes, and that's still two years!"

"But I think I have the right to these things, Dora!"

"Why?" she snapped harshly. "Why do you think you should get to know information that belongs to a secret society of wizards and witches who've actually come of age?"

"Because of who I am! You don't understand! Voldemort is back-don't flinch! And if something happens and the Death Eaters break out of Azkaban, what will I do? Do you realize how much danger I'll be in? That's why I want to know! That's why forming this secret defense society - "

Oops.

"What?"

"I...I didn't mean anything! It was Hermione's idea, because Umbridge wasn't teaching us anything, and Harry agreed to teach us! It's called Dumbledore's Army..."

To my surprise, she relaxed a bit.

"Hmmm. If Harry's teaching you, you could learn a lot. Though it's wrong and against school rules, well...better expelled and prepared then sitting in school protected but clueless."

"Exactly."

"Well, listen...don't tell anyone I told you this, especially Molly, but Arthur was at the Ministry when he got attacked. I can't tell you why."

"I understand."

"Dinner!" came Andromeda's voice from downstairs.

"Come on, let's eat," Dora said.

Dora left after dinner, and afterwards the house became unusually quiet. Ted, Andromeda, and I sat silently in the armchairs as the fire crackled brightly in the fireplace. I'd almost forgotten that Dora had her own place now. However, she wasn't there at the moment. She'd gone to St. Mungo's to visit Mr. Weasley with the rest of the Order.

"She's coming to get you later, you know," Ted said.

"Why?" I asked, confused. She hadn't mentioned anything about coming back home.

"She's taking you to Grimmauld Place. I guess they're having a celebration there."

I nodded slowly, staring at the fire as Ted got up and left. My gaze moved to Andromeda. Her eyes were clouded, indicating deep thought. She almost looked confused or even sad.

"Andromeda?" I asked softly.

"Yes?" She turned her head to look at me.

"Er...is something wrong?"

"No," she muttered, her eyes still looking glazed. "I was just...thinking..." She stared straight ahead again. Then she said, "I guess I was just daydreaming. Thinking about...the past."

"The past? Why?"

She sighed. "I overheard your argument with Nymphadora earlier today."

"Oh...yeah, we were kind of loud."

"Well...I heard you mention your parents. It just got me thinking..."

"About what?"

She sighed again. "I was just thinking about Christmases past with my sisters, I guess," she admitted solemnly. "I know I shouldn't be. I betrayed them; they betrayed me, and yet...they're my sisters. But I lost them both...and so I worry every single day that something might happen to Nymphadora. She's doing all sorts of dangerous things..."

I was stunned. She was thinking of Narcissa and Bellatrix? I found my voice and said, "Do you think, just maybe, you could tell me a story? Just one? You don't have to unless you really want to, but I would love to hear one."

She smiled at me. "Maybe one."

I clasped my hands together and looked at her expectantly. If anything, I noticed her voice seemed slightly more enthusiastic.

"What you have to understand, Lyra," Andromeda said, "is that your mother wasn't always like she is now. At one time, we were actually close. She shook her head. "That changed, obviously, but one time when we were young, we decided to play a prank on Ciss - Narcissa. She was only five. I was seven and Bella was nine. We - "

"Bella?" I asked.

She instantly flushed red. "Yes, well, that's what we called her. The three of us had pet names, you see."

"And you still refer to her as Bella even though you parted ways?"

"Er...no. Anyway, she was nine and I was seven. It was dark and cold one Christmas Eve, and there was a foot of snow on the ground. Bellatrix and I went outside and each grabbed a snowball. We brought it in and quietly crept into Cissy's - I mean Narcissa's room. She was sleeping quietly, of course. We pulled back her covers and put the snowballs next to her - she was on her side. Then we rolled her on top of them and she woke up suddenly from the cold."

She was smiling and barely focusing on me anymore. Her eyes looked dreamy again.

"She was mad at us, but laughed because she thought it was a good prank. But we were being too loud, which woke our dad. He came into Narcissa's room and found the wet blankets. The snowball had melted, of course. He punished her for wetting the bed."

"That's awful," I said. "Did you and Bellatrix take the blame?"

"We tried, but Dad wouldn't lift the punishment. The two of us felt so bad we gave her all of our chocolate from Aunt Walburga and Uncle Orion. You know, Sirius's parents. She seemed to think that was fair enough."

It was comforting, somehow, to know that the sisters hadn't always been that distant. It was also nice knowing that Bellatrix hadn't always been as evil as she became.

But another part of me, deep down, could recognize the fact that Andromeda had never really given up. It seemed like she had a false trace of hope that her sisters may communicate with her again. Nonetheless, the story had given me a tiny amount of information. But it only led to more questions.

"Andromeda, can't you tell me what happened with my parents? I just think..." I stopped because she was shaking her head.

"Not today, Lyra."

"Why?" I demanded. "They're my parents; why can't I know?"

"I just don't think it's the right time," she said.

"Then when will you tell me? Or will you? Will I have to get the information from somebody else?"

"It's just not the right time."

Frustrated, I leaned back in my chair. I thought I'd come close again, but apparently I hadn't. When would I get to know the full story? I felt I needed something to vent my anger, but right then Dora walked through the front door.

"Lyra, are you ready to go to Grimmauld Place?" she asked.

"Sure," I said, forgetting everything for a moment. I stood up and walked toward the crackling fire, reaching for a handful of green powder in the flower pot. I was about to throw it into the fire when Dora said, "We can't use the Floo, remember? The Ministry's watching the Network and they could trace us to Headquarters."

Aggressively throwing the powder back into the pot, I said, "I guess we're flying then."

"It's the only way we won't be tracked."

She handed me my Comet Two-Sixty and we walked out the door, saying goodbye to Andromeda as we went. Then we began to fly through the frigid sky.

Once we reached Grimmauld Place, I was frozen to my broom. I could barely move as I entered the house, following Dora. Inside it was much warmer and festive-looking.

"Lindsey!" Sirius exclaimed as he came down the stairs. "I thought I heard someone. It's great to see you. Come into the kitchen, both of you, and warm up."

The thought of the warm fire was the only thing on my mind as we went to the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was in there cooking. When she saw me, she exclaimed, "Lindsey! How nice to see you again!"

"Hi, Mrs. Weasley. How's Mr. Weasley?" I asked as I pulled of my cloak and curled up by the fire. Sirius said something about attending to Buckbeak and left with Dora behind him. He seemed happier than usual, probably because of the company.

"He's fine," Mrs. Weasley answered with a sigh. "But he's been messing around with Muggle remedies. We went to visit him today."

"Yes, I heard."

"Oh!" Mrs. Weasley said suddenly. "I forgot; I have something for you."

She walked over to the table, grabbed the single present that was sitting there, and handed it to me.

"Thanks," I said shyly before ripping off the paper. Inside was a hand-knitted sweater, purple with a silver L on it. Inwardly grateful that both of my names started with L so it wouldn't be awkward wearing this, I thanked her again.

"Oh, it was no problem," she said. "By the way, the others are upstairs if you want to say hi."

"Okay," I replied, deciding at that moment that I was warmed up enough. I went upstairs to the bedroom I shared with Ginny and Hermione to find that Dora had brought everything up already. The others weren't in there, though, so I quickly changed into my new sweater and went to Harry's and Ron's bedroom.

Everyone was there - Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny.

"Hi, Lindsey!" Hermione said brightly.

"I see Mum made you a sweater too," said Ron.

"Yeah. I didn't realize all of you were here."

"Well, I was on a ski trip with my parents, but I decided to come here after Mr. Weasley got attacked," Hermione said.

I nodded my head and said, "I heard you visited him today."

"Yes, and he's fine," Fred said.

"But he experimented with those Muggle things-what were they called, Hermione?" George asked.

"Stitches," Hermione replied.

"Yes. Mum threw a fit," said Fred.

"But you know how Dad is about Muggle things, right?" George asked.

"Oh!" Ginny exclaimed. "Lindsey, you won't believe who we saw at St. Mungo's!"

"Who?" I asked curiously.

"Professor Lockhart!"

"Lockhart?" I asked. "How's his memory?"

"Not any better," Ron said. "Well, a little. He still tried to give us autographs." He rolled his eyes.

I laughed and said jokingly, "Did you see anyone else there?"

They immediately exchanged dark glances. Hermione finally said, "Well, yeah...we did. We saw Neville there with his grandmother. They were in the same ward as Lockhart, visiting Neville's parents. You see...his parents were tortured into insanity by Voldemort's Death Eaters."

"Oh." That was all I could say. My mind drifted back to the Yule Ball last year, and I remembered how Neville said he lived with his grandmother.

"So did they say - ?" I pressed on, but the door opened and Sirius came in.

"Lindsey," he said.

"Yes?"

He motioned for me to come with him. I left the room and followed him to the drawing room. Once we were inside, I noticed a long, thin package lying on the floor.

"I never got a chance to give you your present," he said. "So here it is."

"Oh. Thanks," I told him. I kneeled down on the floor and began to rip at the paper. Immediately I knew what it was. It excited me, but I was also confused. However, once I'd ripped off the paper, I gasped. I wasn't expecting one that good.

"How - why - Sirius!" I exclaimed.

"It was nothing," he said. "You deserve it. I knew you didn't like flying here, and a Comet Two-Sixty can only go so fast, so I figured that since you can't Apparate yet, this will at least get you places faster."

I ran my hands over the handle. I'd known it was a broomstick from the beginning, but I didn't expect it to be this elaborate. A Nimbus, maybe, but not a Firebolt. It was the best model they had. As I slid my hands up and down the handle and rubbed my thumb against the broom's name, I felt confused again.

"Why?" I asked.

Sirius laughed his bark-like laugh. "Why not?"

"Did you only get this so that I could get home faster?" I asked.

"Not really," he said. "I thought I owed you. I got Harry a Firebolt for Christmas in his third year."

"Oh," I said, my happiness fading. He was just trying to get even.

"Is there a problem with it?"

"No," I said. "But I don't play Quidditch. Sirius, did you only get me this because you wanted me to feel I was...I don't know...equally important to you as Harry was...or something?"

He paused. "No. But I could tell you were jealous. Tonks has told me about you, Lindsey. She says you don't have many friends. I wanted to show you I was your friend."

"Oh," I said again, feeling lame. Then I felt a sudden surge inside me and at that moment I wanted to spill my secret to him and tell him exactly who I was.

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah," I said. "Thanks. It means a lot. I know these brooms aren't cheap."

He smiled. "Well, I'm glad. Hey, I have to go."

I smiled and nodded as he left. As soon as the door closed I admired the Firebolt for a few seconds, but then I remembered the tapestry of the family tree was in this room and I was drawn to it again. I traced the family ties with my eyes as I thought. If only I could tell Sirius. It would be so much easier...

CRACK. A loud noise filled the room and I screamed. Turning around to face the center, I saw Kreacher in the middle.

"Kreacher!" I exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"Kreacher was coming to clean, miss. Kreacher lives to serve the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black."

"So I've heard."

"Oh. Master Sirius bought you a broomstick?" Kreacher asked, eyeing my new Firebolt.

"Yes."

"Master Sirius wouldn't have bought that for you if he knew who you really was," Kreacher said. "Oh, no. He didn't like his cousin, did he?"

My whole body froze. "Kreacher...what did you just say?"

He smiled a sly, wicked smile. "Kreacher knows who you is, miss. Kreacher knows everything about the Black family. You is the daughter of Miss Bella, yes. Kreacher knows these things."

"But...how do you know that?" I asked, swallowing hard.

"Kreacher could tell. Kreacher saw it in your eyes. Kreacher saw it in your face. You look just like Miss Bella, yes, you does. Oh, but you look much like the Lestrange boy as well, oh yes."

"Is it that obvious?" I said in a quiet, almost-a-whisper voice.

"Oh, yes. Anybody could tell. If only people used their minds," Kreacher said. He tapped a closed fist to his head.

"What do you mean, ‘used their minds?'"

"Master Sirius is not a clever as he thinks," Kreacher said. "Master Sirius would know who you was if he was smart enough. But nobody seems to know, oh no, because they is not smart. The blood traitors and half-breeds and Mudbloods in this house doesn't use their brains because they has none, but if they did, they would see that you, Miss Lyra, is the daughter of Miss Bella."

I swallowed again. "You know my name."

"Yes, Kreacher knows."

"Kreacher!" I said, suddenly panicky. "Kreacher, whatever you do, please don't tell anybody! They're not supposed to know!"

Kreacher bowed low to me. "Of course, Miss Lyra. Kreacher lives to serve the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black."